The Kansas City Chiefs take on the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado. The game is scheduled for kickoff at 4:25 P.M. ET.
Last week, the Denver Broncos lost a stunner against Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts. It was a home-coming for Manning, having played most of his hall of fame career as a Colt in Indianapolis. Manning was trying to set the all-time passing yards mark as a quarterback by breaking Brett Favre’s record of 71,838. Manning’s late interception was his last pass of the night. He was three yards away from breaking the record.
The Broncos lost for the first time this year. Despite Manning’s poor performance on the field this year, the Broncos are in firm control of their playoff destiny. The Broncos’ will not have their top corner back this week, Aqib Talib, after his suspension for poking another player in the eye. Even without Talib, the Broncos defense will still field a dangerous secondary.
Last week, the Chiefs were on a bye week. Coming off a bye, Andy Reid in his career is very successful. The Chiefs are fortunate to have the extra time to prepare for a division opponent. In week eight, Kansas City played the Detroit Lions in London. The Chiefs annihilated the Lions 45-10. The Chiefs will need to take this positive momentum on the road and try to repeat their success against a slightly weakened Broncos squad.
A player to watch on the Broncos this week is C.J. Anderson. In week eight, the Broncos pummeled the Packers and it was arguably their best win of the season. Peyton Manning had a mediocre game, but the running attack was on point. In that contest, the Broncos rushed for 160 yards and three scores. Last week, the Broncos rushed for 35 yards on 14 carries. Anderson must factor into this game if the Broncos are going to bounce back this week.
On offense, Manning has three receivers in Owen Daniels, Demaryius Thomas, and Emmanuel Sanders that are tremendous weapons. But, without a solid ground game, Manning will turn the ball over. He just doesn’t have the ability to win with his arm anymore. If the Chiefs can take away the run game and force Manning into a one dimension offense, then the Chiefs have a shot at the upset.
A player to watch on the Chiefs this week is Alex Smith. Balance is a huge factor in this game and the Chiefs will have to find a balance between running and passing. In week eight, Charcandrick West rushed for 97 yards on twenty carries. In the absence of Jamaal Charles, West has finally started to find his groove. Offensively, Travis Kelce is a big target for Smith. If he’s split out wide against a secondary that is without Talib, then expect the Chiefs to take advantage of the mismatch. Smith has a lot of weapons and he needs to use them all to pull off the upset.
The most important factor in this game is time of possession. The Colts were able to beat the Broncos by controlling time of possession. The Colts controlled the clock for over 38 minutes and if the Chiefs have a shot of pulling off the upset they’ll need to copy that formula. One way Smith can extend drives is with his feet. In week eight, Smith rushed for 78 yards on five rushes. In that contest, the Chiefs were 8-13 on third down conversions.
Broncos Vs Chiefs Week 10 Betting Lines
BetOnline.ag has the Broncos as 4.5 point favorites in this game. The over/under on total points scored is 41.5. BetOnline is our top rated NFL sportsbook at the moment. You can read our full BetOnline review here.
My Pick
This game will come down to the wire. The Chiefs are not as talented as the Broncos, but Denver’s inability to remain balanced and their over tendency to rely on Manning’s arm is going to bite them again before this season is over. Take the Chiefs with the points on this one.
Play Chiefs +4.5
broncos • Chiefs • NFL Betting